Triumph goes retro, faster and further with four new models for 2027
Triumph has laid out a busy finish to 2026, giving us an early look at four significant new models that will progressively break cover over the next three months.
The all-new Bonneville T40 and T40 Black lead the charge, followed by a new Tiger 1200 on October 27, the particularly intriguing Street Triple 798 on November 17, and finally a substantially revised Tiger 900 on December 15.
This is considerably more than a colour-and-sticker exercise. The T40 expands Triumph’s remarkably successful 400 platform into much more traditional territory, the Street Triple gains a new 798 cc Moto2-developed engine, while both Tigers promise meaningful mechanical and technology upgrades.
Australian pricing and arrival timing for the Tiger 1200, Street Triple 798 and Tiger 900 remain unconfirmed. However, the Bonneville T40 and T40 Black are already confirmed to arrive in Australia in the first quarter of 2027.
Bonneville T40 brings some proper retro chops to Triumph’s 400
The Bonneville T40 may prove to be one of the smartest extensions yet of Triumph’s 400 cc TR-Series platform.
Triumph’s small-capacity singles have already proved extremely popular in Australia, and crucially that success has not been confined to youngsters or first-time riders.
When we recently rode the Tracker 400 and Thruxton 400, Triumph told us almost 1500 examples of its 400 range were already running around on Australian roads. Around 70 per cent of Australian 400 buyers were over 40, while around 70 per cent were also new to Triumph.
So much for these being bikes purely aimed at the kids.
That existing customer demographic also makes the Bonneville treatment particularly relevant. Triumph has already dressed the TR-Series single as a roadster, scrambler, flat-tracker and cafe racer, but the T40 is perhaps the version most likely to resonate with riders who simply want a handsome, traditional motorcycle without the size, weight or expense of a larger Bonneville twin.
And from the images, Triumph has certainly committed to the theme.
Wire-spoked wheels, twin rear shocks, black fork gaiters, a round headlight, conventional chrome mirrors, tank knee pads, a substantial rear grab rail and a long seat with contrasting piping all help make the T40 look much more like a scaled-down Bonneville than a Speed 400 wearing a few retro accessories.
It also shows nice restraint. Nothing looks particularly forced. The proportions are clean, the radiator stays visually subdued, and the relatively simple exhaust treatment works neatly with the horizontal lines of the seat and rear guard. It cuts a handsome figure.
Triumph says both the T40 and T40 Black use a new iteration of its 400 cc TR-Series engine. Top end power is well down on its establishing siblings to suit the more laid back approach.
Triumph is promising relaxed ergonomics, plenty of technology for the category and the level of finish we have come to expect from the 400 family.
Considering how well those bikes have been received here already, and how many buyers have turned out to be mature riders rather than fresh-faced learners, adding some tasteful Bonneville chops to the TR-Series platform looks like a fairly obvious recipe for success.
The Bonneville T40 and T40 Black are scheduled to arrive in Australia during the first quarter of 2027, with local pricing still to be announced.
A new Tiger 1200
The next reveal comes on October 27, when Triumph will show the new Tiger 1200 in full.
The motorcycle pictured here is clearly a Rally Explorer, with the familiar big tank, wire-spoked wheels, and heavily protected adventure-bike architecture still present, but wrapped in distinctly revised bodywork.
Triumph has already confirmed that its updated 1200 cc triple will deliver increased performance and refinement, along with advanced rider technology and what the company describes as the most sophisticated suspension package ever fitted to a Triumph motorcycle.
That is not an insignificant claim, given the outgoing Tiger 1200 is already nudging 150 horsepower and 130 Nm of torque, complete with semi-active suspension in its higher-spec forms.
Precisely how much further Triumph pushes outright engine performance remains to be seen. There is probably as much potential benefit in improved low-speed manners, refinement, suspension control, and reduced bulk as in simply chasing another headline horsepower number.
Anyone more interested in getting maximum motorcycle for their dollar than having the very latest model in the shed could find this a particularly good time to shop the outgoing Tiger 1200. Australian dealers still have MY26 bikes in stock, with some serious discounts being knocked off them. At the time of writing, brand-new Tiger 1200 Alpine Editions are still being advertised around $27,590 ride-away and Desert Editions around $29,290 ride-away, representing savings of around $3200.
Those deals naturally depend on remaining dealer stock, but with an all-new model now officially less than three weeks from its reveal, there may never be a better time to haggle on the current one.
How much further can the Street Triple go?
Then we come to arguably the most intriguing member of the quartet. The Street Triple started life with a beautifully simple brief. Take much of the magic of the Daytona 675, lose the fairings, soften the road manners just enough and build a light, entertaining and comparatively affordable naked bike.
It worked spectacularly well.
That original Street Triple formula was about fun, accessibility and a cracking three-cylinder engine rather than assembling the most exotic component list possible. But the Street Triple has steadily climbed the performance ladder ever since.
Today’s Street Triple 765 RS already boasts nearly 130 horsepower in a motorcycle weighing only 188 kg wet. That modest mass is suspended by high-spec Showa Big Piston forks and an Öhlins STX40 shock, and is hauled down by Brembo Stylema monobloc calipers via an MCS radial master cylinder. That’s a pretty high-end component list already….
And Triumph has already pushed the package even further with the Street Triple 765 RX, which adds Öhlins NIX30 forks, clip-ons and an even sharper track bias.
That is a very different part of the motorcycle market from where the Street Triple journey began.
This makes Triumph’s statement that the incoming Street Triple 798 will be even more performance-focused than previous models all the more tantalising. Just how much further can they push it?
Triumph confirms the new model will use a 798 cc engine developed for the 2027 Moto2 World Championship. Triumph has powered Moto2 with race-tuned 765 cc triples since 2019, so the capacity increase represents an important next step for both the race programme and the roadgoing Street Triple that has benefited so heavily from it. Or is the capacity boost to help preserve the current power levels while meeting ever increasing emissions legislation…?
The teaser CGI examples shown here wear RS badging, while Brembo hardware is clearly visible at the front, but Triumph has yet to give us the suspension specification, output figures, wet weight or even tell us how broadly the 798 treatment will spread through the Street Triple range.
More power seems almost inevitable, but the bigger challenge will be retaining what made the Street Triple so good in the first place. Lightness, intuitive handling and that slightly naughty sense of fun have always mattered more to the Street Triple than a dyno-sheet arms race.
If Triumph can push the 798 further towards genuine supersport levels of chassis and engine performance without making it heavier, harsher or substantially less accessible, it could be something very special indeed.
We find out on November 17.
Tiger 900 builds on a hard-earned reputation
Triumph is saving the new Tiger 900 until December 15, but the early imagery already shows a Rally Pro with substantially refreshed styling.
The basic silhouette is unmistakably Tiger, although the tank, radiator shrouds and frontal bodywork have become more angular and technical.
More importantly, Triumph says the next Tiger 900 will receive a more powerful and refined engine, an upgraded chassis, enhanced rider technology and next-generation connectivity as standard.
We do not yet know the new power figure – or even whether Triumph will retain the existing 888 cc displacement – but the current generation already makes a healthy 106.5 bhp and 90 Nm.
More important than any individual specification, though, is the reputation that Triumph’s middleweight Tiger platform has built over a decade and a half.
MCNews.com.au’s own Wayne Vickers can probably speak to that better than most. Wayne bought his Tiger 800 XC in 2013 and turned it into a genuine long-term workhorse rather than a pampered Sunday toy. That same motorcycle has now covered more than 300,000 kilometres.
When Wayne tested the updated Tiger 900 Rally Pro, that enormous experience with the preceding Tiger generation provided a useful reference point for assessing how far the platform had evolved.
The old 800 subsequently grew into the 888 cc T-Plane Tiger 900, trading some of the silky character of the earlier even-firing triple for considerably more bottom-end traction and character. Triumph’s later engine revisions then restored much of the missing top-end urge without giving away that low-rpm flexibility.
That leaves Triumph with an interesting balancing act for 2027. More performance, improved chassis dynamics and better electronics are always welcome, but much of the Tiger 800 and 900 family’s appeal has come from being dependable, comfortable and thoroughly usable over enormous distances.
If the new bike can add another layer of performance and sophistication without disturbing those fundamentals, Triumph should have a formidable middleweight adventure platform on its hands yet again.
Four very different directions for 2027
Taken together, these four motorcycles provide an interesting snapshot of where Triumph is heading.
At one end sits the Bonneville T40, taking the company’s affordable single-cylinder platform and giving it perhaps its most traditional and broadly appealing treatment yet.
At the other is a Street Triple that seems determined to push an already extraordinarily capable middleweight roadster even further toward serious performance-bike territory and leverage Triumph’s now well-established Moto2 credentials.
Then there are the Tigers: the 1200 attempting to raise Triumph’s technology and refinement ceiling, and the 900 building upon one of the company’s strongest reputations for real-world adventure-bike durability and usability.
Of the four, the Street Triple 798 probably raises the most questions. The Bonneville T40, however, could quietly prove to be the biggest commercial hit of the bunch.
The Tiger 1200 will be revealed on October 27, followed by the Street Triple 798 on November 17 and the Tiger 900 on December 15. Australian pricing and arrival timing remain unconfirmed.
